Big Boy was a complete shock to me, a 1930 picture that was vibrant, funny,bizarre and very entertaining. I bought it expecting to see a train-wreck,a politically-incorrect minstrel show featuring a white actor performing in black-face. Not just for a scene or two mind you, but for the entire picture(save for the very end)!!! What I got was a fabulous performance by Al Jolson,who is frankly so good here it's almost scary. He's funny, charming, sings wonderfully and performs with a sort of wink-wink to the audience, as if he knows he's in a ridiculous situation as an actor and wants everyone else to know it. His asides are often hilarious,and frankly he is so good overall that if he had chosen to play the part in normal black makeup, without the exaggerated lips common with black-face, I honestly think he would've disappeared into his role completely and truly transcended his makeup. The plot is almost completely beside the point-it exists simply to provide a frame-work for a series of wonderful musical interludes.There is one extended flashback sequence that appears almost out of nowhere, and is so wild and broadly played that I don't think anyone who sees it will ever quite forget it. Print quality is sometimes excellent, and often-times poor. This picture is in definite need of some restoration. I have to applaud those who decided in this sensitive age to release a movie as bizarre and potentially offensive as this one,and I'd like to think that it's because they trust us to be adults and apply some context to what we're watching. If the very idea of black-face portrayals offend you, this picture is to be avoided at all costs. If you can place the use of it into a proper context, this picture might still offend you, but at least you won't keep yourself from watching a wonderfully bizarre and surreal little curio. The ending to my mind is fabulous,by the way.
